Review of Max Payne (2008) by Stephen H — 20 Mar 2012

Max Payne successfully discards almost everything that made the video games such big and memorable hits. The games featured a dark, gritty narrative with impeccable action, an excellent script, and a twisting and turning plotline featuring distinct characters that each had their importance. The film only succeeds in bringing the Max Payne visual style to the film, featuring subpar acting from the cast all around, an extremely weak narrative, a weak script, and more criminally, very very little action. The plot is muddled and altered beyond recognition, becoming a mishmash of BS atop BS.

A filmmaker could literally transcribe the original game into film, taking out a few levels and a few lines of dialogue, to make an award winning action noir. All one would have to do is subtract the less meaningful content to fit the plot and events into a two hour film. Since the games are already extremely close to film, changing the content was unnecessary and someone, somewhere, thought it was a good idea to have less action.

While Mark Whalberg is a picture perfect Max Payne, and a capable actor, he simply needed to put forth effort, which he didn't in movies such as The Departed. Though, could you blame him? Character and acting wise, he was the only one that was competent. And was it really necessary to include Ludacris?